Nash Requested Trade

Blue Jackets captain Rick Nash asked the team to consider trading him last month, general manager Scott Howson said this afternoon.

Nash, in his ninth season with Columbus, made the request in mid- to –late January, Howson said.

“He approached us and asked us to consider trading him,” Howson said. “We agreed to accomodate his request as long as we could get a deal that would provide us with cornerstone pieces to help us compete for a Stanley Cup championship in the coming years.”

That did not happen. No team was able to meet the Blue Jackets’ demands for their franchise player. Nash remains the captain of the Blue Jackets and Howson said that will not change.

Howson declined to address why Nash requested a trade.

“You’ll have to talk to him,” Howson said.

Nash’s agent, Joe Resnick, did not return messages this afternoon. Nash declined to speak with reporters today. He is expected to be made available after practice on Tuesday.

Howson said the team’s relationship with Nash remains cordial despite a situation that has become very messy and will likely get messier in the coming weeks and months. He said he spoke to Nash after the 3 p.m. deadline today.

“I explained our position,” Howson said. “You all know him. He’s a great person. He understands. The price was high and I don’t apologize for that. It had to be high.”

Nash has so far refused to discuss a potential trade, dismissing mentions of him leaving the Blue Jackets as “rumors” and “speculation.” Howson said revealing that Nash had asked the team to consider trading him was in the best interest of the Blue Jackets.

“I just think it was the right thing to do, the truthful thing to do,” Howson said. “We wanted to make sure that everybody understood where everybody was on this issue because it’s a very important issue for our franchise. I think things will continue to be amicable between Rick and the organization.”

Resnick said over the weekend that Nash would not lengthen the list of acceptable teams for which he would waive his no-trade clause in the offseason, when other teams might be more willing to meet the Blue Jackets’ price. It was meant to put pressure on the Blue Jackets to get a deal done before today's deadline but the team did not waver from its demands.

“We’re not going to change our position,” Howson said. “We talked to a number of teams. We understood what his preference is. His preference as far as I know is going to stay the same. We’ll all have to deal with that as we move forward.”

How close did the Blue Jackets come to trading Nash today?

“It doesn’t really matter how close we were,” Howson said. “It just didn’t happen. We had significant discussions but it didn’t happen.

“We’re going to do what’s best for our team. I have no questions about Rick’s character, the quality of person he is and the commitment he’ll give us over the next six weeks.”

Cannon Fodder Podcast

Cannon Fodder is the podcast from The Dispatch sports team covering the Blue Jackets. Tune in for lively discussions about the ta and the rest of the NHL. Subscribe to the show through its RSS feed or iTunes.

Commentary from the Dispatch

Columnist Michael Arace shares his thoughts on the Blue Jackets and the NHL.